Two Free Temporary Virtual Machine

 Scenario

Sometimes you want to use a computer that is outside of your network to test firewall rule, or you might just want to run some tests.

For example, if you are in a school, you want to play browser games, you can use these Virtual Machines to bypass the firewall restriction.

Microsoft Learn provide some temporary virtual machines in their labs. The purpose of these virtual machines was used to practice the lab exercises, but you can use for others.

Requirement:

1.  A Microsoft free account: @outlook.com, @live.com, @hotmail.com etc.
2. Edge or Chrome Browser.
3. https://github.com/kmille36/Windows-11-VPS

First Virtual Machine

1. Open Microsoft Edge Browser, login with your Microsoft free account.
2.  Open Url: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/modules/implement-common-integration-features-finance-ops/10-exercise-1 
3. (You might need to agree to an announcement)
   
   
   
4. Click “Launch VM Mode” button.
5. Wait for a few minutes, the VM will be ready to use.
6. On the right panel, click “Resources” tab, you can see the username and the password. It also shows how many hours remaining. Typically, you can use it for 2 hours.
   
7.  Enter the password and login to the machine.
8. The flash icon on the up-left screen provides some keyboard function.
   
9. You can make it full screen by click the screen icon beside the flash icon.
   
10. After you finish the testing, you can shut down the VM, click the “Instruction” tab on the right panel. Click “Done” button at the down-right of the screen. 
    

 

 

Second Virtual Machine

1.  For this VM, you will need to run some Azure Cloud Shell commands to create it. Fortunately, https://github.com/kmille36/Windows-11-VPS has some scripts to make it very simple.
2. Open Microsoft Edge Browser, login with your Microsoft free account.
3. Open Url: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-ca/training/modules/monitor-azure-vm-using-diagnostic-data/3-exercise-create-virtual-machine
4. Click on “Activate Sandbox” button. 
5. You might be asked for the permissions, just accept all the required permissions.
   
   
   
   
6. Wait for a few minutes until the Azure shell window ready.
7. Enter command: curl -skLO is.gd/azurewinvmplus ; chmod +x azurewinvmplus ; ./azurewinvmplus
   
   
   
   
8.  Follow the instruction to create the VM that suitable for you.
9. Once you see “…is READY TO USE !!!” message, you can use Remote Desktop tools to connect to this VM. The IP, username and password can be found on the screen.
   
   

    

   Use Cases:
   1. Run NMAP to scan public IPs.

   
   
   
   

    

   References:

   1.    https://docs.microsoft.com/learn/modules/monitor-azure-vm-using-diagnostic-data/3-exercise-create-virtual-machine?activate-azure-sandbox=true

   2.    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/modules/implement-common-integration-features-finance-ops/10-exercise-1

   3.    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-ca/training/modules/monitor-azure-vm-using-diagnostic-data/3-exercise-create-virtual-machine

   4.    https://github.com/kmille36/Windows-11-VPS

    

How to update the data source of an excel sheet

 

After a CSV file was imported to the excel file, the excel sheet will have connection with the CSV file. If the CSV file was deleted or moved to other folder, you might get the data source error when you try to refresh the data connection:

To quickly fix this error, Open the excel sheet, click menu “Data” > “Queries & Connections” to open the “Queries & Connections” panel, which normally is on the right side of the excel sheet. 

On the “Queries” tab, double click the query that has issue.

This opens the “Power Query Editor” window. Click Menu “Home” > “Advanced Editor” 

On the “Advanced Editor” pop-up window, modify the Source, enter the new Absolute Path of the CSV file. Click Done. This should update the data source.

Another thing that worth to mention is the encoding setting.  I have to change the encoding to 65001, which is “UTF-8”, (Encoding=65001), in order to display some French characters in the CSV file.

How to fix Remote Desktop Connection Manager 2.7 full screen issue

I recently upgraded Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan) 2.2 to version 2.7. After I fixed the popup window issue (http://andyinmatrix.blogspot.ca/2015/07/how-to-fix-remote-desktop-connection.html), I encountered another even worse issue: the host’s screen doesn’t scale to fit the full size of the local client screen size, which the RDCMan version 2.2 is doing very well. I have to use scroll bars to get the “start” button. This is really annoyed.



A few steps to fix this problem:

Click menu “tool”-> “options”



Click tab “Client Area”. Make sure “Lock window size” is unchecked.



Right click the very top root level of the hosts tree (it is actually your .rdg file name), select “properties”



Click tab “Remote Desktop Settings”; uncheck "Inherit from parent"; check "Same as client area", click ok.



That’s all. Enjoy the full screen. And of course, don’t forget to save your .rdg file.

How to fix Remote Desktop Connection Manager 2.7 decrypt error pop up window issue

I recently upgraded Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan) 2.2 to version 2.7. When I open the .rdg file, I get this giant popup window:



Because the file has so many hosts with encrypted password, the size of the error window exceed the screen. I couldn’t even get to the “ok” button.
To fix this issue, we can remove the <password> </password> pair from the .rdg file.
1) You may want to backup it, actually you should make a copy before open the .rdg file with version 2.7.
2) Open the .rdg file with Notepad++. Press ctrl+h to open the “Replace” popup window.
---Find what:<password>.*</password>
---Replace with: null
---Search mode: Regular expression

3) Click “Replace All” button and save the file.
4) Open it with RDCMan 2.7. no popup window anymore.
However, you will have to re-enter your password for these hosts.

Change file timestamp in Windows

Sometimes you need to modify a file’s timestamp and don’t want to change the content of the file. Copy command has an easy way to do it:

copy /b filename.ext +,,

This command will assign the current time and date to filename.ext without modifying the file content.  It will replace the original file, so make sure you have a backup for the file.

For reference, check: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490886.aspx

office 365 reports links

The weird of office 365 reports is you cannot get some reports from the admin portal. below is the links of these reports:

 

https://admin.protection.outlook.com/Reports/DisplayReport.aspx?reportId=DLPPolicyMatchesForMail

https://admin.Protection.outlook.com/Reports/DisplayReport.aspx?reportId=DLPPolicyMatchesForMailByAction

https://admin.protection.outlook.com/Reports/DisplayReport.aspx?reportId=DLPPolicyMatchesForMailByRule

https://admin.protection.outlook.com/Reports/DisplayReport.aspx?reportId=MalwareDetections

https://admin.protection.outlook.com/Reports/DisplayReport.aspx?reportId=RuleMatchesForMail

https://admin.protection.outlook.com/Reports/DisplayReport.aspx?reportId=RuleMatchesForMailByAction

https://admin.protection.outlook.com/Reports/DisplayReport.aspx?reportId=SentAndReceivedMail

https://admin.protection.outlook.com/Reports/DisplayReport.aspx?reportId=SpamDetections

https://admin.protection.outlook.com/Reports/DisplayReport.aspx?reportId=TopDLPPoliciesAndRulesForMail

https://admin.protection.outlook.com/Reports/DisplayReport.aspx?reportId=TopRulesForMail

https://admin.protection.outlook.com/Reports/DisplayReport.aspx?reportId=TopSendersAndRecipients

However, it cannot handle the result that returns more than thousands lines, you will have to install an Excel add-on for it: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30716

D3DX9 error when installing Movie Maker 2011

I was trying to install Movie Maker – one of the components of Microsoft live Essentials 2011 in my Windows 7 box, and got this error:

My troubleshooting steps:

1. Install other components of Microsoft Live Essentials 2011 (live messenger) without any problems.
2. Google 0x800b010e, no luck. Looks like it is a general error message.
3. Google D3DX9. Looks like it is something related to DX9 (DirectX 9)
4. Run “dxdiag”. Determine my DirectX version is 11.
5. Check Movie Maker System requirements in Microsoft website (bing movie maker 2011): http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=26689

Found this important requirement:

For Photo Gallery and Movie Maker: Some required components of DirectX 9 may be installed for you if they're not already on your computer.

6. Find out the DirectX 9 runtime installation in Microsoft.com: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=35. Install the Runtime.
7. Reinstall Movie Maker. Problem solved.

How to make Office 2003 Macro works in Office 2010

So you upgrade to office 2010? Enjoy the great interface? But suddenly, you find your Word Macro that were created on Word 2003/2007 doesn’t work anymore, you get some errors like this: “Compile error: Can’t find project or library”

Basically, it happens because you are missing some OCX file, typically, they are MSCAL.OCX (Microsoft's ActiveX Calendar Control) and mscomct2.ocx(Microsoft Windows Common Controls). Follow below steps, most of your word and excel macro should work:
1. Get the OCX files: you can get mscomct2.ocx from Microsoft website: http://activex.microsoft.com/controls/vb6/mscomct2.cab or http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=25437d98-51d0-41c1-bb14-64662f5f62fe, but not MSCAL.OCX. Of course you can download from other sources, but I would recommend you install office 2003 pro in a spare computer or a VM, then copy this file.

2. Copy these 2 OCX files to c:\windows\system32 (if your OS is 32 bit) or C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ (if your OS is 64 bit).

3. Register these 2 OCX files:
For 32 bit OS:
regsvr32 /s C:\Windows\ system32 \mscomct2.ocx
regsvr32 /s C:\Windows\ system32 \MSCAL.OCX

For 64 bit OS:
regsvr32 /s C:\Windows\SysWOW64\mscomct2.ocx
regsvr32 /s C:\Windows\SysWOW64\MSCAL.OCX

4. Put your file location into trust location:
1). For Word 2010:Click menu “File”-> “Options” -> Trust Center, click "Trust Center settings" button, select "Trusted Locations"; click "Add new location..." button, add your file location there, you may also select "Subfolders of this location are also trusted".

2). Same as Excel 2010

 5. Ok, open your Word/Excel macro file, works? No? oh, you are using office 2010 64 bit, unfortunately, Microsoft said they won’t provide 64bit version of mscomct2.ocx even its name is “Common Controls”.


If your word/excel macro files are shared with other users, you need to implement this change silently to other computers. Here is what I’ve done:

1. Create a folder that includes these file: MSCAL.ocx, mscomct2.ocx, a .bat file, a .reg file:

2. The .reg file (Change “C:\\test\\” to your actual folder):

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Word\Security\Trusted Locations]

 "AllowNetworkLocations"=dword:00000001

 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Word\Security\Trusted Locations\Location9]

 "Path"="C:\\test\\"

 "AllowSubfolders"=dword:00000001

 "Description"=""

 "Date"="2/8/2011 11:19 AM"

  

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Excel\Security\Trusted Locations]

 "AllowNetworkLocations"=dword:00000001

 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Excel\Security\Trusted Locations\Location9]

 "Path"="C:\\test\\"

 "AllowSubfolders"=dword:00000001

 "Description"=""

 "Date"="2/8/2011 12:36 AM"

3. The .bat file(change SysWOW64 to system32 if you are using 32bit OS):

regedit.exe /s .\TrustP.reg
copy .\mscomct2.ocx C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ /Y
regsvr32 /s C:\Windows\SysWOW64\mscomct2.ocx
copy .\MSCAL.OCX C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ /Y
regsvr32 /s C:\Windows\SysWOW64\MSCAL.OCX

Now you can push the change using your patch system like SCCM.

FEP(Forefront Endpoint Protection) Excluded Processes for servers

------ Domain Controller -----------------


%systemroot%\System32\ntfrs.exe
%systemroot%\System32\dfsr.exe
%systemroot%\System32\dfsrs.exe


---- DNS Server -----------

%systemroot%\System32\dns.exe


----- Exchange 2007-2010 -------------

EdgeTransport.exe
Microsoft.Exchange.AddressBook.Service.exe
Microsoft.Exchange.Cluster.ReplayService.exe
Microsoft.Exchange.Monitoring.exe
Microsoft.Exchange.RpcClientAccess.Service.exe
Microsoft.Exchange.Search.ExSearch.exe
MSExchangeMailboxReplication.exe
MSExchangeMailSubmission.exe
MSExchangeRepl.exe
MSExchangeTransportLogSearch.exe
MSFTEFD.exe
msftesql.exe
Store.exe
MSExchangeFDS.exe


-- FPE (Forefront Protection for Exchange) --------

FSCConfigurationServer.exe
FSCEventing.exe
GetEngineFiles.exe
ScanEngineTest.exe
FSCManualScanner.exe
FSCScheduledScanner.exe
FSCRealtimeScanner.exe
MultiEngineScanner.exe
Kavehost.exe
FSEMailPickup.exe
FSCVSSWriter.exe

-- Hyper-V Host Server ---------

%systemroot%\System32\vmms.exe
%systemroot%\System32\vmwp.exe
%systemroot%\System32\vds.exe

-- IIS --------------

%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\w3wp.exe
%systemroot%\SysWOW64\inetsrv\w3wp.exe

-------------- Operations Manager 2007 --------------------

%programfiles%\System Center Operations Manager 2007\HealthService.exe
%programfiles%\System Center Operations Manager 2007\Microsoft.Mom.ConfigServiceHost.exe
%programfiles%\System Center Operations Manager 2007\MonitoringHost.exe

---------- FPSP (Forefront Protection 2010 for SharePoint) ------------------------

FSCConfigurationServer.exe
FSCEventing.exe
GetEngineFiles.exe
ScanEngineTest.exe
FSCManualScanner.exe
FSCScheduledScanner.exe
FSCRealtimeScanner.exe
MultiEngineScanner.exe
Kavehost.exe
FSEMailPickup.exe
FSCVSSWriter.exe
wsstracing.exe
owstimer.exe
mssearch.exe


---- SQL Server 2005 (KB article 309422)--------- --

%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Binn\SQLServr.exe
%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.3\Reporting Services\ReportServer\Bin\ReportingServicesService.exe

%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.2\OLAP\Bin\MSMDSrv.exe


----- SQL Server 2008 (KB article 309422)---------------------

%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\Binn\SQLServr.exe

%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSRS10.MSSQLSERVER\Reporting Services\ReportServer\Bin\ReportingServicesService.exe

%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSAS10.MSSQLSERVER\OLAP\Bin\MSMDSrv.exe

FEP(Forefront Endpoint Protection) File exclusions for Servers

----FEP Default Server Policy--------------

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\NTuser.pol
%SystemRoot%\System32\GroupPolicy\registry.pol
%windir%\Security\Database\*.chk
%windir%\Security\Database\*.edb
%windir%\Security\Database\*.jrs
%windir%\Security\Database\*.log
%windir%\Security\Database\*.sdb
%windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Datastore\Datastore.edb
%windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Datastore\Logs\edb*.log
%windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Datastore\Logs\Edb.chk
%windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Datastore\Logs\Edbres00001.jrs
%windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Datastore\Logs\Edbres00002.jrs
%windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Datastore\Logs\Res*.jrs
%windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Datastore\Logs\Res*.log
%windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Datastore\Logs\Tmp.edb


---FEP Configuration Manager 2007------------

%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\adsrv.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\adsrv.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\AIKbMgr.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\AIKbMgr.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\amtproxymgr.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\amtproxymgr.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\asstdata.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\asstdata.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\ccr.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\ccr.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\ccrretry.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\ccrretry.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\certmgr.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\certmgr.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\clifiles.src
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\clifiles.src
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\COLLEVAL.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\COLLEVAL.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\coll_out.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\coll_out.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\CompSumm.Box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\CompSumm.Box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\coursend.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\coursend.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\dataldr.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\dataldr.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\ddm.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\ddm.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\ddmnotif.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\ddmnotif.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\distmgr.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\distmgr.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\dseval.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\dseval.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\hman.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\hman.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\inventry.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\inventry.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\invproc.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\invproc.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\mmctrl.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\mmctrl.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\objmgr.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\objmgr.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\offermgr.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\offermgr.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\OfferSum.Box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\OfferSum.Box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\pkginfo.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\pkginfo.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\PkgTransferMgr.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\PkgTransferMgr.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\policypv.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\policypv.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\polreq.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\polreq.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\rcm.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\rcm.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\replmgr.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\replmgr.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\RuleEngine.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\RuleEngine.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\schedule.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\schedule.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\sinv.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\sinv.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\sitecomp.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\sitecomp.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\sitectrl.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\sitectrl.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\SiteStat.Box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\SiteStat.Box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\smsbkup.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\smsbkup.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\statmgr.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\statmgr.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\swmproc.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\swmproc.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\WSUSMgr.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\WSUSMgr.box
%programfiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\wsyncmgr.box
%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Inboxes\wsyncmgr.box


------FEP Domain Controller -----------------

%systemroot%\ntds\ntds.dit
%systemroot%\ntds\EDB*.log
%systemroot%\ntds\Edbres*.jrs
%systemroot%\ntds\EDB.chk
%systemroot%\ntds\TEMP.edb
%systemroot%\ntds\*.pat
%systemroot%\SYSVOL\domain\DO_NOT_REMOVE_NtFrs_PreInstall_Directory
%systemroot%\SYSVOL\staging
%systemroot%\SYSVOL\staging areas
%systemroot%\SYSVOL\sysvol


-----FEP DHCP Server-----------------

%windir%\System32\DHCP\*.mdb
%windir%\System32\DHCP\*.edb
%windir%\System32\DHCP\*.pat
%windir%\System32\DHCP\*.log
%windir%\System32\DHCP\*.jrs
%windir%\System32\DHCP\*.chk
%windir%\System32\DHCP\backup\*.mdb
%windir%\System32\DHCP\backup\*.log
%windir%\System32\DHCP\backup\*.chk

----FEP DNS Server ----------------

%windir%\System32\DNS\*.dns
%windir%\System32\DNS\*.scc

----- FEP Exchange 2007-2010 -------------

%ExchangeInstallPath%\Mailbox
%ExchangeInstallPath%\GroupMetrics
%ExchangeInstallPath%\TransportRoles\Logs
%ExchangeInstallPath%\Logging
%ExchangeInstallPath%\ExchangeOAB
%ExchangeInstallPath%\Mailbox\MDBTEMP
%SystemDrive%\DAGFileShareWitnesses\*


-------FEP Hyper-V Host Server -------------

%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V
%Public%\Documents\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks
%ProgramFiles%\Hyper-V
%SystemDrive%\ClusterStorage

------------ IIS -------------------------

%systemroot%\System32\LogFiles
%systemroot%\SysWow64\LogFiles


-------------- Operations Manager 2007 --------------------

%programfiles%\System Center Operations Manager 2007\Health Service State\*


----------------FEP SharePoint 2010 ----------------

%systemroot%\Temp\WebTempDir
%programfiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\Logs
%programfiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\12\Logs
%programfiles%\Microsoft Office Servers\14.0\Logs
%programfilesx86%\Microsoft Office Servers\14.0\Logs
%programfiles%\Microsoft Office Servers\12.0\Logs
%programfilesx86%\Microsoft Office Servers\12.0\Logs
%programfiles%\Microsoft Office Servers\14.0\Data
%programfilesx86%\Microsoft Office Servers\14.0\Data
%programfiles%\Microsoft Office Servers\12.0\Data
%programfilesx86%\Microsoft Office Servers\12.0\Data
%systemroot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\Temporary ASP.NET Files
%systemroot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v2.0.50727\Temporary ASP.NET Files

Open command windows here (DOS is Here)

It would be very handy if you can open a dos command window in the folder that you are currently borrowing by right click the folder icon. Windows 7 does provide this function, but it is kind of “hidden”. You have to press the Shift key, in the meantime, right click the folder icon, you will see the “secret” option “Open command windows here”.

How about Windows XP?

No, no secret option here, however, you can use registry key. Here is the code:

************************************************
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\DosHere]
@="Open command windows here"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\DosHere\command]
@="C:\\windows\\SYSTEM32\\cmd.exe /k cd \"%1\""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\DosHere]
@="Open command windows here"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\DosHere\command]
@="C:\\windows\\SYSTEM32\\cmd.exe /k cd \"%1\""

*************************************************
Copy and paste to your notepad; save it as a .reg file; then double click the file to import it to the registry table.

That’s it! You'll get this:

Enjoy!

If you don't like it, here is the uninstall code:

***********************************************
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\DosHere]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\DosHere]

***********************************************
Save it as a .reg file and run it. Just be sure you run it as an Administrator.

Uncontrollable Zooming in Microsoft Word and IE

The Dell Latitude D630 laptop I was using has a very strange behaviour, when I connect it to a projector, and press Fn+F8 to show the screen on both devices, word zooms to 500% and stay there, whatever I change zooming setting, it goes back to 500%. Same as IE. I have to reboot the laptop to solve this problem, but when I press Fn+F8, it happens again. The strange thing is, if I don’t connect it to a projector, everything is fine, even I press Fn+F8. And I couldn’t reproduce the problem in another Dell laptop.

It really annoys me because I cannot use it for presentation. I decided to find out the reason. I believe there is a process causing this problem, I killed the suspect processes with Process Explorer 11.33 (www.sysinternals.com) and finally found out it is iType.exe that causes the problem.

Here is detail of iType.exe:

Once I kill the process, everything back to normal.

Running Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) command line

You may already familiar with Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) GUI, but how about the MBSA command line?

You get at least 2 benefits from the MBSA command line

1. If you want to scan the remote computers that are not part of your domain, MBSA GUI won’t help you, at least I couldn’t find any option to do it. In this situation, MBSA command line comes in place.

2. You can easily schedule MBSA Command line running at midnight to scan a range of computers, and view the reports with a cup of coffee next morning.

The format of MBSA command line is:

MBSACLI [/target /r /d domain] [/n option] [/o file] [/qp] [/qe] [/qr] [/qt] [/listfile file] [/xmlout] [/wa
/wi] [/catalog file] [/nvc] [/ia] [/mu] [/nd] [/rd directory] [/?][/u username /p password]

For example, if you want to scan an IP 192.168.1.1: mbsacli /target 192.168.1.1 /u administrator /p password

Enter “mbsacli /?” for more details.

Something you have to be aware:

1. MBSA Command line need an offline security update signature to perform a scan, the file name is wsusscn2.cab. MBSA GUI can automatically download it and save it in “C:\Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\MBSA\2.1.1\Cache\” (depends on your MBSA installation) , but if you haven’t run the GUI for a long time, you can download the latest signature from here http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=76054. I normally save it in a temporary folder, then use /category parameter to specify the file location: mbsacli /target 192.168.1.1 /catalog c:\temp\wsusscn2.cab /u administrator /p password

2. The cons of this command line is the username and password is in the plain text, you have to change your password after you finish a scan.

3. The output of MBSA command line is ugly, however, you can view the report from MBSA GUI, it is user friendly and pretty beautiful.

4. The version of MBSA we are talking here is 2.1.1, released on Nov 4, 2009. You can download it from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b1e76bbe-71df-41e8-8b52-c871d012ba78&displaylang=en

Use Vmware workstation 6.x image in Vmware server 1.09

Vmware workstation is a great product, you can capture the movie, which is very good for training, and you can setup multiple snapshots. I have a crack version of Vmware workstation 6.5.2 in my home computer (Forgive me, I don’t have much money in my pocket), however, you don’t want to run a crack software in your office’s computer, fortunately, Vmware server is free. I tried the Vmware server 2.0.1, to be honest, it sucks, I don’t like the web console, and the performance is really bad. The version 1.0.9 is good, it is neat and clean.

Now here is the problem: When I try to open the images that I created in my home computer using Vmware workstation 6.5.2, I get an error message: “Configuration file was created by a Vmware product with more features than this version”. Can we just modify the .vmx configuration file? I tried, but it didn’t work well, I got some error messages like: “Pipe connection has been broken.”

Ok, the answer is here, VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 4.0.1, you can download it from https://www.vmware.com/tryvmware/?p=converter, and it is free.

The functions of Vmware converter are very straight forward. You click the “Convert Machine” on the toolbar; select the source type, in my case, it is “Vmware workstation or other Vmware virtual machine”; select destination type “Vmware workstation or other Vmware virtual machine”, the product is “Vmware Server 1.x”; give a name and choose a location. You’re ready to go.

Windows 2003 server shutdown prompt

I have some Windows 2003 server virtual machines, I was tired by them keep asking me for a reason when I reboot them, I decide to disable this “shutdown event tracker”. However, you shouldn’t turn it off in production environment, since it is an important audit log.

1) Open “Group Police Object Editor”: Click “start”-> “Run...” enter “gpedit.msc”, click “ok”.

2) Expand “Computer Configuration” -> “Administrative Templates” -> “System”

3) Double click “Display Shutdown Event Tracker”, and disable it.

Now you can quickly shutdown or reboot your windows 2003 server.

Create a big size empty file

I was working with a MFT (Managed File Transfer) system recently. I need a big size file to test the transfer rate, and it would be good to create a file with specific sizes. After google it, I found a useful command in WinXp: fsutil – file system utility. The format of creating a specific size file is: fsutil file createnew .

Open a command line window: Click “start”-> “Run...” enter “cmd”, click “ok”.

I need a 3GB file, 3GB=3*1024 MB =3072*1024 KB =3145728 * 1024 BYTE=3221225472 BYTE

So the command is: fsutil file createnew test3g.txt 3221225472

Now you get a 3GB file in the current directory. The only thing I concern is, if you compress this file, it is only 200 Bytes, some transfer protocol may compress the file before the transfer, so it may affect the transfer rate. However, it is still a good practice.

Outlook 2003: Email attachment appears in the main body

After our Email server upgrade to Exchange 2007, I suddenly found my email attachment show up in the main body as an icon when I use outlook 2003. It used to appear in the attachment line under the subject line. It annoys me a little bit, yep, I agree, this format is useful in some cases, but I don't like it, I prefer the attachment is in its place and not mess up the layout. I look at the email, and find the Email format has been changed to "Rich Text", I remember it was "HTML". The setting should be in somewhere.

Yeap, I find it. Click menu "tools"->"options", click "Mail Format", in "Message format" section, select "HTML", apply it. now everything goes back.